Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

Senator Norris mentioned anomalies regarding the civil partnership legislation. We hope these can be addressed through the Finance (No. 3) Bill which will come before the House in the next week or so. Senator O'Neill spoke about the VECs and Senator Mullins spoke about the administrative centres and called for a debate on education. We will arrange for the Minister for Education and Skills to come to the House in the next session for a wide-ranging debate on education.

Senator Cullinane mentioned the tall ships festival. I had the pleasure of being in Waterford for the festival for a number of days and I join in congratulating the organising committee, the city manager, the Garda, the Civil Defence and everybody involved on what was a wonderful festival that hosted over 500,000 people in Waterford over the weekend. With regard to Asgard II and the sail training programme, this is something that can and should be addressed on an all-Ireland basis. As someone whose grandfather was a sea captain who sailed on three massive schooners many moons ago, sailing is something very close to my heart. I will raise the issue of sail training with the relevant Minister.